Italy: The Surprising Backstory—Two Unexpected Names Before Guardiola’s “No” and the Shift Toward Pirlo

The race for the national team coaching position wasn’t simply a duel between the “Pep Guardiola dream” and the solution that led to Andrea Pirlo, with Roberto Mancini and Antonio Conte waiting—in vain—on the sidelines. Behind the scenes, in fact, the national team’s technical director, Paolo Maldini, and the Federation’s advisor, the Brazilian Leonardo, had drawn up a more comprehensive shortlist, with at least two unexpected names under consideration before the Catalan’s “no” brought Pirlo back to the center of the project.

According to rumors reported by *Corriere dello Sport*, the new Azzurri technical staff also tested the waters with Thiago Motta, who has not taken another coaching position since being fired by Juventus in March 2025. The Italian-Brazilian reportedly declined the offer politely, preferring not to join a project that requires total and immediate availability.

Raffaele Palladino’s name was also reportedly on the Azzurri’s shortlist. The former coach of Monza, Fiorentina, and Atalanta—praised for his modern ideas and managerial skills—was considered a credible candidate to implement the youth-oriented approach envisioned by federation officials. The idea, however, never materialized, and Palladino, like Motta himself, will begin the season without a team to coach.

Joining these two unexpected names was that of Silvio Baldini, head coach of the Under-21 team and, on an interim basis, of the senior national team during the early June friendlies won against Luxembourg and Greece—matches played with what was essentially an experimental squad full of young players, with Gianluigi Donnarumma serving as the team’s leader. Baldini himself, however, has always made it clear that his goals are the 2027 Under-21 European Championship and the Los Angeles Olympics, to be contested (if the team qualifies) with an Under-23 squad allowed two overage players.